211-205 Incomplete combustion

Master and Lionel both took their weapons out of their magic bags and held them in front of each other.

Both smiled belligerently and waited for Galva-san's signal to begin.

'Begin.'

The two of them seemed to move instantly even before the signal to start, but it was a stalemate with neither of them moving, as if they hadn't heard the signal to start.

If the master's movement style was to disrupt with quick movements and speed and play with his hands, then Lionel's style was that of a stillness, where he received all those attacks and then brushed them all off.

But that would be the case if it was the state he was in before.

Master would surely be measuring how much power Lionel had regained.

And it was the same with Lionel, who was probably wary of the move that had slashed the adventurers as it slipped through earlier.

The evidence of this is the sweat on their foreheads.

If they could meditate and feel the two of them, their magic power and qi would probably grow and shrink.

It was time to try to figure out if one of them would break this stalemate.

Not surprisingly, Master released his stance and slowly approached Lionel with a scowling smile.

Lionel didn't want to miss such behavior of his master, so he lowered his posture and put all his strength into the arm holding the large shield.

In what seemed like an inaction, in an instant, Master changed the sword and shield he was holding into two throwing daggers and threw them at Lionel's legs and face.

But whatever the master's intentions were, to his surprise, Lionel ignored the thrown daggers and began to move forward, thrusting his large shield forward.

I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm going to do with it.

The next moment when the dagger that you threw is supposed to hit, the large shield starts to glow and the large shield becomes even bigger and flicks the dagger.

The master wasn't surprised by this and turned into a twin-sword style, holding a straight sword in both hands, which was even shorter than the sword he was holding earlier, and ran out to Lionel.

Lionel poured his magic power into the great sword in his right hand, and when it became a great sword of fire, he waved it at his master.

His master couldn't avoid the great sword and it hit him.

''Extra-hey!''

I was surprised to see that I did indeed look like that, so I immediately tried to cast a recovery spell.

When Master's body shakes, it disappears like a mirage, and the next thing you know, blood splatters rise from both Lionel's legs.

Then Master appeared behind Lionel, but the sword he held in both hands had its blade missing, and he poked his knee on the spot.

''........What the hell did you just do?　Keti, Kefin, do you see that?

I asked Ketty and Kefin, who were next to me, to clear up my doubts, but they both looked surprised.

'I didn't understand. I thought my body was shaking and then it appeared at the same time.

Kefin said that, but he seemed somewhat unsure of himself.

I heard later that the shapeshifting jutsu used by Kefin before was actually a kind of illusion.

In order to activate it by making them turn their attention to themselves while speaking, it should have been incomprehensible to those who had not been affected by the illusionary arts.

However, the master didn't pretend to do so, and the adventurers around him were surprised, which meant that they all looked the same.

''You'll have to take it in person to find out, won't you? How did Lionel figure it out?''

I kept my gaze on the two of them and thought about it.

The mock battle took the form of a muddled battle, with Master's arm perhaps injured when he lost his sword, unable to swing it sharply, and Lionel's leg was not strong enough to make a move on him.

''This match draw.''

Galva-san ended the mock battle.

The two of them had a feeling of incompleteness on their faces, but they reluctantly obeyed.

''Good work,''

I said a few words of exertion to the two of them and activated my recovery magic.

Their faces were in contrast to each other.

''Well, this is what the limit is right now.''

''I may have become conceited in my mind. I didn't expect to have mastered such a technique...''

Master speaks radiantly and Lionel speaks regretfully.

'Master, what is that?　When I fought the adventurers, I could kind of understand why they were moving so slowly and not letting their opponents touch them. But when I fought Lionel, things were honestly in a different dimension.

Hmmm. That was just a walker's technique and use of physical enhancements. Well, there are a few seeds. It's a move that could be done if you brush up on the basics.

Master laughed as he said that, but I couldn't imagine how I would be able to do something like that once both skill levels were raised.

''That's ridiculous!　Master's figure disappeared like a mirage, you know?　And now Master Speed........

I was confused by his words, and I tried to make a statement that made light of my master's physical abilities.

''Luciel-sama, what Whirlwind is saying is true. I'm sure the fact that Whirlwind didn't move until the very last minute caused my head to perceive it that way.

That's where Lionel tries to calm me down, and Lionel helps me out, but he says that he's perceived it too, which makes it even more confusing as he says something extra confusing.

That wasn't such an easy one.

Because if it wasn't, it wouldn't explain how all of us who were around seemed the same way.

Once the two of us had recovered, I wanted to experience the mystery myself.

''Well the healing is over. Can I make that move?

Well, that's up to Luciel's efforts, I suppose. Now, let's take on the two of us.

Huh?

I think I heard some empty ears.

''That's about as reasonable as it gets to fight Luciel-sama now.

It was recognized by Lionel that Master's statement was real, not whether or not he was able to acquire the skill in his body.

I look at the two men in front of me.

........No matter how much their levels and skills have fallen, fighting two combat maniacs one-on-one is still too delicate, but fighting them one-on-two is insane.

I'm sure the two of them are probably overestimating my abilities because they saw the power of the dragon.

I immediately decided to tell them that the dragon's power can't be used heavily.　

''I'll tell you ahead of time, the moves and other moves I showed you earlier are deep. Since the consumption of magic power is not half as much as it should be, it can't be used that easily. If I fought two people like that, I'd die lightly.

But Master and Lionel look serious and shake their heads at my words.

'Luciel, this is for your sake, but it's also for our sake.

Please accept it, Master Luciel.

They asked seriously.

'Is it for the both of you?　Not trying to beat me up for being weak or anything?

'Don't even think about it!　Luciel, you don't have a natural talent, but you do have a talent for hard work. That you, by learning and repeating the basics, you're probably stronger than we are now.

''........Master, did you hit your head or something? Where do you think I, a former healer, can seriously stand up to an opponent who has lightly defeated a B-ranked party and a duo with equal power to them?''

I'm thinking. Honestly, if you moved at that speed, we wouldn't be able to handle it now and you'd be killed instantly. But even without that, you're strong enough now.

''That's right. Even without that power, the Luciel-sama of three months ago was strong enough.

Both Master and Lionel must be mistaken.

It can't be helped.

In any case, even if you worry about this and that, you'll end up fighting in the end.

Let's do it.

''At least activate the area barrier, please.

Of course. You can use defensive magic, but don't cut corners. But don't cut corners.

You can drop one of your hands, if you want.

........It's strange because when I see the two of them smiling fearlessly, I feel like I'm being killed.

''........I understand. But please don't kill me, okay?

Yeah, I'll do my best.

But I'm going to take it seriously, too.

Master, the good news is that I'll make an effort, not a commitment.

However, I couldn't open my mouth to the two serious faces, I could only nod my head.

I changed my illusory staff into a sword and took out my holy dragon spear, and while keeping my distance, I managed to end this mock battle alive.　

And that's when Garba's voice, "Begin", echoed through the training grounds.